The first listen through OK GO’s “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” is a little off-putting. This band was known for being a bit of a throwback band. Their music was driven by guitars and space with that being best exemplified by “Here it Goes Again” and “Get Over It.” With the band’s new album the guitars aren’t the focus of the music anymore… those guitars are more of an accent used by producer Dave Fridmann’s trippy work. The guitars aren’t as prevalent but they are present. The space is gone. That’s been replaced by a billion reverb’s with Fridmann’s production. Fridmann’s work does fit the songs well but it is slightly unsettling. The music isn’t guitar driven pop rock anymore, instead there is a funk element that we haven’t heard from OK GO yet. This music is influenced heavily by Prince and with the production it sounds like a less smooth My Morning Jacket album. All that said, you have to admire the spirit of creativity on the record even it doesn’t work on every song. There are some really solid songs on to listen through. Notably “White Knuckles”, “All is Not Lost”, and “I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe.” But the biggest problem that the album has is that there isn’t a song that you can listen to over and over and that was what kept this band afloat on their last two records. It’s not without its merit and I wouldn’t go so far to say that this record is a disappointment. Still, there's no song with any lasting appeal. The music isn't enjoyable from the start... just shocking. The elements and reverbs are too big of a part of the sound. The producer should leave a stamp on the music; But he shouldn't be a prominent part of the music like what's happening here. Especially when the band isn't a new band. This record is very ambitious, it just lacks the lasting appeal of the band's previous work.

The first listen through OK GO’s “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” is a little off-putting. This band was known for being a bit of a throwback band. Their music was driven by guitars and space with that being best exemplified by “Here it Goes Again” and “Get Over It.” With the band’s new album the guitars aren’t the focus of the music anymore… those guitars are more of an accent used by producer Dave Fridmann’s trippy work. The guitars aren’t as prevalent but they are present. The space is gone. That’s been replaced by a billion reverb’s with Fridmann’s production. Fridmann’s work does fit the songs well but it is slightly unsettling. The music isn’t guitar driven pop rock anymore, instead there is a funk element that we haven’t heard from OK GO yet. This music is influenced heavily by Prince and with the production it sounds like a less smooth My Morning Jacket album. All that said, you have to admire the spirit of creativity on the record even it doesn’t work on every song. There are some really solid songs on to listen through. Notably “White Knuckles”, “All is Not Lost”, and “I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe.” But the biggest problem that the album has is that there isn’t a song that you can listen to over and over and that was what kept this band afloat on their last two records. It’s not without its merit and I wouldn’t go so far to say that this record is a disappointment. Still, there's no song with any lasting appeal. The music isn't enjoyable from the start... just shocking. The elements and reverbs are too big of a part of the sound. The producer should leave a stamp on the music; But he shouldn't be a prominent part of the music like what's happening here. Especially when the band isn't a new band. This record is very ambitious, it just lacks the lasting appeal of the band's previous work.